


Hack My Firewalls, Steal My Heart.

by rangerdanger985



Series: trying times of the new age hacker and his thieving maybe boyfriend [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - hacker/thief, Bottom Steve Rogers, Bottom Tony Stark, Canon-Typical Violence, Cussing, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Top Steve, Top Tony Stark, Why do I do this to myself, Will add tags as I go, hahaha, im gonna die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-05-10 10:53:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerdanger985/pseuds/rangerdanger985
Summary: Steve Rogers has had a specific view on life even since he was a kid, Tony Stark never really knew what it was to live.coming from two vastly different sides of life, they meet in the most ironic way, when one of them is running from the police.after an explosion rocks the gangs world they go into hiding, its now 3 months later and nothing else had exploded so their coming out of the wood work.tony stark was almost exploded but he handled it pretty well, now hes juggling school work, si work and his alter ego as hacker iron man all at once.oh yeah and trying to spare his face from any more punishment.read on to find out how the story will continue!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a continuation of another story, 'fine lines bad crimes and trying times' is a have to if you want this to make any kind of sense.
> 
>  
> 
> welcome back to another exciting instalment of how can I lose sleep this time! 
> 
> let me know what you guys think in the comments and kudo if you like it!
> 
> but most of all  
> enjoy!  
> RD

[this is the link to part 1.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5685352)

  


 

Tony stark was not having a good day.

Summer break had just ended, he had three papers due in less than a week and the aunt of one of his class mates Mrs. parker had somehow tricked him into tutoring her nephew peter in algebra, it wouldn’t be that bad if the boy didn’t have some kind of hero worship thing going on with tony.

And that was just with his school life, outside of shield academy as he called it things sucked worse, he still hadn’t tracked down who tried to blow him up, SI wanted to take him on full time in R+D even though he was still in school, his old man was being a drunken bitch and what’s worse? He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Steve in 3 month meaning he also hadn’t been laid in 3 months, he was a little testy.

It wasn’t like he expected a goodbye or anything, he told himself as he sat on his bed in the dark, he should be glad to man had followed orders and gotten the fuck out of town,

Tony had just expected to have to cover up his trail, which was ridicules and he told himself so repeatedly, Steve was a trained thief, had been for a while and had never been arrested even if he did have some scars that proved he’d been through hell.

Exhaling forcefully tony flopped back on his bed and shoved his face into his pillow, he needed to stop thinking about this and get some sleep since the power was out and he couldn’t exactly do anything else.

After 10 minutes his head shot up and he stared at his door, someone was moving around down the hall.

\---

Laying low was a pain in the ass for Steve Rogers the same way couch surfing between Sams and Bucky’s couches was a pain in his back, he’d been keeping his head down for 3 months, only just recently returning to the city and was bored as fuck.

Maybe that was why he took the job Natasha had offered him without to many questions, which he should have known would be a mistake.

They met outside of a café Steve’s ball cap pulled low over his head as he looked at some photos Natasha had given him “so what’s so special about this place?” he questioned looking at the woman “nothing other than it belongs to the owner of an Indian 500 company who’s currently out of the country on a business trip”

He hummed “you know the security?” he asked “nothing that wouldn’t be deactivated with a power outage, and given that the power for two blocks around the house will be out for at least a few hours because of line replacements” she let the sentence hang and smirked at him.

Steve just rolled his eyes, it was an easy job, a newbie could do it but then again he’d been out of it for three months and while skills like his didn’t fade with age it would be good to walk before he ran.

“The guy have any kids or anyone housesitting for him?” he questioned putting down the photos to pick up his drink “he has a son but he is rarely ever there, has an apartment or something” Steve hummed again “I’ll do it tonight”

Natasha smirked again, “I knew you would,” she said before checking her phone and rising to her feet to return to her classes.

Once she was gone he looked up the residence on his own and found out it belonged to one Howard stark and that was all he needed, a business man kept copies of his deals on hand, it was something that had held true more than once and he was sure the same could be said for stark.

If he got into the guys office he might be able to find out who blew up his apartment, or at least give Clint something to go off of because he was drawing a blank with everything he tried.

He should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

That night he sat on his bike at the end of the street and waited for the streetlights to go out which they did shortly after 11:30.

He waited another ten minutes before coasting his bike up in front of the house, he parked his bike around the back of the house for a quick getaway and then climbed the trellis to a window on the second story of the house.

It took him only a minute to get the window open and he climbed inside on silent feet, there wasn’t supposed to be anyone there but he wasn’t about to take any chances.

It wouldn’t be the first time information he got from someone else about a job was wrong.

He was in what he guessed was a guest bedroom, he walked to the door and stepped out slowly, leaving the door slightly ajar and started to look in the other rooms, searching for the office.

After a few minutes he found it, a decent sized room on the bottom floor at the end of a short hallway the room was sparse and had some books on a shelf and a liquor cabinet with a lot of half-empty bottles.

In the center of the room was a large oak desk and a computer, he had just started forward to search its drawers and the cabinet behind it when he heard something and turned just in time to be struck across the face with something hard.

It sent him to the ground, sharp pain splitting his head and it doubled when his head hit the floor.

Before he blacked out, he heard someone speak “what the fuck?”

\---

Tony got out of bed and crept to his door, listening as whomever it was opened and closed several doors before walking down the stairs.

He walked to the corner of his room picked up the baseball bat from when he attempted sports eight years ago and crept out of his room, silently walking down the stairs.

The little voice in the back of his head told him he needed to call the cops because someone was trying to rob him but he ignored it and peeked around the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

A man wearing black was standing in front of Howards rarely used office glancing around and tony slowly started walking toured him bat pulled back ready to swing, the man took a few steps into the office and tony made his move rushing forward.

The man turned but tony was already swinging and caught him across the face with the bat in a satisfying sound, the man fall to the ground and laid still as tony took deep breaths to calm his racing heart and then he looked at the face of the man.

“what the fuck?” he questioned as he recognized the man, it was Steve, Steve who was trying to rob him, Jesus Christ Rodney was right and he was never going to let tony live it down.

Then again, maybe Steve didn’t know some small part of his brain whispered; maybe he was just doing a job one of his friends gave him.

Well, tony thought, he’d have to wait for the thief to wake up before he could ask him.

Damn it.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so not fully satisfied with this one either but I never am in the first few chapters of anything I write.
> 
> hope you guys enjoy and forgive me for the rockiness i'm high on allergy meds.
> 
> leave a kudo or comment if you like but most of all
> 
> enjoy!  
> RD

His head hurt, like fuck.

Steve groaned but that made his head hurt worse, he wasn’t about to open his eyes if a sound made his head hurt that bad.

He could feel he was laying on something hard, maybe a floor and he was pretty sure the thing under his fingers was a rug.

He was jerked from his thoughts of where the fuck was he and why did his head hurt so bad when something cool touched his face.

Jerking away his hand shot up and grabbed the cool thing which he was pretty sure was a- “do you mind your bleeding”

The voice surprised Steve enough to make him open his eyes and in the split second before it felt like something stabbed an ice pick into his eye he recognized the face hovering above his own.

It was tony…

Steve squinted his eyes not letting go of the young man’s wrist which he distantly realized was holding a washcloth “what the fuck are you doing here?” he growled out.

The young man looked irked and jerked his wrist free from Steve’s grip “I live here asshole, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Steve would later blame the recent head injury for his inability to keep his next words behind his lips “you’re a stark”

Tony looked more irked “well I sure as hell aint a Gambini, now what the fuck are you doing here? Are you trying to rob me?”

“something like that” Steve muttered and closed his eyes to try and make it stop hurting so damn much.

What the hell did the kid hit him with?

\---

“Jesus” tony said dropping the washcloth in his hand and sat back crossing his legs and dropped his head into his hands “first you disappear for three months after your apartment gets blown to hell barely three minutes after I walk out of it now you’re trying to rob me!”

“hey it’s not like I knew you lived here” he heard Steve grunt as he sat up “it’s not like you told me” tony glared at him threw his fingers.

“that can go both ways asshole” Steve grunted but kept rubbing at his head “what did you hit me with?” he finally asked making tony sigh, a small pang of regret flashing in his chest “a baseball bat”

The look on Steve’s face when he jerked to look at tony made him snort “why?” he almost squawked “well a strange man was skulking around my house in the dark trying to rob me” he wasn’t going to let that go anytime soon.

“come on” tony said while grabbing the cloth again “your bleeding” tony got on his knees and motioned Steve forward with his other hand.

Steve leaned over slightly and tony rested his free hand on the back of his neck, scooting closer to wipe at the trickle of blood seeping from his hair line “your honestly lucky it was just me and not happy or Howard that caught you, they’d have shot you” Steve stayed quiet.

Tony was just starting to wonder if he was going to say anything when he spoke “were you alright?” he questioned quietly tony looked down but Steve wouldn’t meet his eyes “yeah” he spoke just as quietly, it was like a hush had fallen over them and it was strangely soothing.

“I’m fine, I was just worried about you, I didn’t know who that explosion was meant for, you or me” Steve rose his head slightly and looked at tony confused “why would it have been for you?” tony shrugged “I’m a stark, it would be far from the first time someone tried to kill me because of my father’s company”

The man nodded like he understood then spoke again “I am sorry you were caught up in that, after I had to disappear, lay low, I didn’t tell anyone where I was going” tony hummed knowing an apology when he heard one even if the man didn’t intend for it to be an apology.

“so” he spoke finally pulling his hand away from the back of Steve’s neck “you said you were only kind of here to clean me out, what are you really here for?”

\---

The kid was to intuitive.

He knew he owed tony an answer but he couldn’t help wondering what he would think of his company being dirty “the place I was casing turned out to be bigger than I thought, the back room was filled with shit, mostly stark tech, weapons”

Steve watched the youngers mans eyes widen then his brow furrow and then to Steve’s surprise the man snorted and smirked “I knew it”

Tony must have seen Steve’s confusion because he snorted and clarified “were you expecting me to be surprised? I’ve suspected the company has been making under the table deals for the last few years but I could never find any proof and my old man makes sure no one outside of r&d listens to a word I say”

“So…” Steve trailed off tilting his head to the side “so” tony smirked again “when the power comes back on I’ll let you take a look at the files on Howard’s computer” tony got up and looked at Steve still sitting on te floor then held out his hand “want a drink”

Steve looked at the younger man’s hand then reached out and took it, letting the younger help him to his feet “sure”

\---

Tony lead the way to the kitchen motioning for Steve to sit at the kitchen island while he walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer, squinting at the label so he didn’t accidentally hand the man a bottle of soy sauce or something.

While it would be funny he wasn’t quite that mean, besides he was sure Steve had been through enough shit the last few months.

Walking back he handed the bottle over, the top already removed and he reached under the sink “what are you doing?” Steve asked watching the dark shape that was tony stick his head into a cabinet “looking for someth- oww!” the cry of pain was preceded by a thunk sound that made Steve snicker.

“revenge for the bat” he said and took a drink from the beer as tony sat back pulling his head from under the sink and rubbing it “shut up” he muttered then lifted the thing he had in his hand.

He stood up put it on the counter then pressed a button and a soft faintly blue tinged light radiated through the room from the lantern, tony pulled up a stool to sit across from Steve, still rubbing his head, then looked at the man.

“so it’s gonna be a couple hours before the power comes back on, why don’t you tell me what you found”

\---

Steve watched tony for a moment debating what exactly he should tell him then he sighed quietly and looked down at the bottle in his hand, he scratched at the label with his thumb to distract himself.

He couldn’t believe he was actually considering telling the kid anything, he was supposed to be staying as far away from tony as possible, especially now that Steve knew he was a stark!

Bucky was right, he was a glutton for punishment.

“I thought it was a normal job” he started then took a drink before setting the bottle to the side to cross his arms on the counter top “I got into the back, checked out the safe, it was mostly a lot of technical crap no one would ever need”

He heard a huff and glanced at tony who seemed slightly offended.

He was cute when he was offended.

Shit.

“the safe had some business agreements that didn’t make much since, too much profit for too little product, and way to much cash, no pawn shop would keep five grand in a wall safe”

He saw tony copy his position from the corner of his eye “could have just been a stupid owner” Steve couldn’t help rolling his eyes even if he tried “no one is that stupid, but anyway the big deal was in the store room in the back” Steve trailed off and lowered his eyes back to his beer which he had picked up again.

“what was it?” tony asked after the silence stretched for a few minutes “weapons” he said then looked up at tony “stark tech weapons, a lot of them and a lot more cash” Steve watched Tony’s eyes widen and looked down again.

This time the young man didn’t break the silence, Steve gave him a few minutes to comprehend that he was right, suspecting your family company was dirty and having your suspicions confirmed were two vastly different things.

It was a lot to take in.

“what was the name on the contracts?” tony finally asked Steve didn’t answer at first, he didn’t know why he had nothing to lose by telling him whose name was on the paper but something stilled his tongue.

He was sure tony was close to Stan, he was Tony’s fathers business partner so they had to also be friends, for all Steve knew stand was the only parental support tony had as a kid because Steve was almost positive that Howard stark was born with a drink in his hand.

“Steve” he glanced up at tony and saw something strange in his eyes, some kind of dark fire he couldn’t put a name to “what was the name?” Steve still hesitated but finally he sighed “Obadiah Stan”

Tony’s eyes went wide then he looked down and for a moment Steve wondered if he might have just broken the young genius, then tony started laughing.

Oh fuck, Steve thought, I totally broke a millionaire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the next chapter will be posted soon comment if you see any horrible errors, this isn't beta read just like my other wasn't.
> 
> hope you guys enjoyed!  
> RD


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there was more I wanted to add but I couldn't find the space for it.
> 
> hey guys just a heads up but pls pay attention to the end notes of chapters because they will have warnings for the next chapters and also heads ups for hiatus'/vacations/updates/ anything that may make chapters late.
> 
> also keep track of me on tumblr link in my profile I randomy post updates/artwork/prompts/chapter updates there when I am able to log in lol.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this most recent chapter!  
> RD

Tony’s body went cold, Stan was selling weapons under the table, Stan was black market, Tony’s mind whispered the coincidences that he had been ignoring for the last eight years, the attempts on his life, the accidents.

His father’s alcohol poisoning on repeated occasions, the kidnapping attempt after his mother left.

It all made a horrible kind of since, Stan would want the starks out of the way so he could take the company in a new direction a horrible profitable direction.

He couldn’t help laughing, his head falling into his hands “that crazy fucking bastard” he said fingers digging into his hair messing it up even more “are you ok?” Steve asked slowly.

Tony rose his head and looked at the man who seemed a little unsettled, tony couldn’t blame him who laughed when they were told their godfather was committing corporate espionage?

“being ok is a matter of perspective” he couldn’t help quoting Steve’s words back at him and from the way Steve’s lips twitched the man recognized the words.

Tony dropped his arms on the counter and leaned forward “I’ve known Stan was a bastard for a while he’s taken advantage of Howard’s drinking for years but I didn’t think he’d make deals on the black market”

“hey” tony looked up at Steve who was also leaned forward “we don’t know that its black market, he could have just made some deals and not asked any questions” tony shook his head.

Steve was trying to make him feel better but tony was a genius he could put two and two together, he just hated when it came up to five.

“I doubt that, I’ve known the man for years, he never does anything without knowing everything” tony sighed and crossed his arms leaning forward on the counter “Obie is a conniving bastard and greedy but I never thought he’d betray the company”

“you never know what a man is capable of, trust me” tony looked up at Steve and saw the man looking away, there was a story there, tony could tell from the ghosts hanging in Steve’s eyes but he doubted the man would share it “do you think your father had anything to do with it?” the blonde asked to get them back on topic and tony snorted “while it wouldn’t surprise me I doubt Howard’s sober enough to care, when his drinking got bad Obie took control of the company, all deals, contracts and shipments go threw him”

Steve sat back and chewed on his lip “he would have noticed to come after someone if they found out about his dealings but does he have the resources to not only find but also plant an explosive device in my apartment?” he looked at tony expecting a serious answer.

“well, yeah I guess so but he wouldn’t have been able to do it in less than a day, maybe were looking at this wrong”

Tony laid his arms on the table “what if it didn’t come from Obie’s side of the deal, what if it was the guy you stole from?” Steve shook his head “my people checked him out after , he was clean, we couldn’t find anything on him” Steve saw tony roll his eyes “what?” he asked with n exasperated note to his voice

“oh nothing, but if you don’t mind I think I’ll have a friend of mine take another look, just in case” he was hiding something, Steve could tell but he didn’t feel like it was his place to ask “so” tony was the first to break the silence that fell “where have you been staying since your place exploded”

It was the only thing he thought to ask, tony had never been good at small talk unless it was to get into someone’s pants or close a deal for si, “not a mansion” Steve perked a brow making tony huff slightly “hey half the time I don’t stay here wither”

Steve picked his beer up again “what you got a dorm room at that fancy collage of yours?” tony snorted a laugh “my school is anything but fancy and no, SI had this storage warehouse bout a mile from the place they moved everything out and were going to tear it down but I got ahold of the paperwork and swapped some shit around, it makes a pretty good apartment”

Now the man looked curios “so you live in a warehouse” the man clarified and tony lifted a shoulder “till I ran out of underwear I did yes” Steve sat back “I’m pretty positive they made a Disney move about something like that”

Tony made a face and jabbed a finger at him “don’t expect me to break out in song” Steve snorted and rolled his eyes “god forbid, princess” tony blinked slowly and perked a brow unimpressed by the man’s smirk “smart ass” he said finally and turned to the fridge to get his own beer.

Steve would never admit it but he totally stared at the younger man’s ass as he bent down to grab a bottle from the fridge, not that he could be blamed, tony had a nice ass, round and firm, the kind of ass no amount of squats could give you, absently as he sipped at his beer Steve thought it had to be genetic, it was the only option.

Suddenly he remembered something “oh, tony”” the younger stood up and looked at him as Steve dug into the sack he’d tossed on the back of the chair looking for the electronic thing he had found “you said your good with machines right? Can you tell me what this is?” he pulled it out and held it up.

Tony took it to take a closer look in the lantern light shifting it and flipping it over to look at the underside for a few minutes before he looked back at Steve “amazing” he said and looked back at it.

“what is it?” Steve asked genuinely confused “a super computer, or well part of one but not like a real one, someone built this” tony looked back at Steve and held up the circuit bored “this has as much processing power as an fbi data facility”

Steve blinked “really” he was not convinced tony could tell and looked almost giddy for a moment “no seriously, they use things like this in high processing network connections, look at this” he pointed at a large dark square on the otherwise green and silver board

“This is the cpu the heart of this whole thing, most computers can handle 4 maybe 8 gigs of data at a time but the connection is slow as shit, this one? Can handle 4-to-8 thousand gigs like it was nothing”

The younger man started describing each part of the circuit board and how it all linked together and Steve just watched him for a minute cheek propped on his hand, to him it sounded like quantum physics, hell for all he knew it was quantum physics.

He let the younger ramble for a moment but finally he had to say something “speak English” tony stopped and stared at him for a moment “it’s a jerry rigged high yield possessing chip like the stock exchanges uses but on crack and with the ability to live stream across the globe”

He hummed “what would they have been using it for?” Steve questioned “Well they haven’t used this one bad thing about making them yourself is its expensive as fuck and it’s not multi use, it has to be hard wired into a single computer connection and after a couple hours” the young man dropped it and rose his hands “poof, no more cpu”

The older man tilted his head “what are you talking about?” tony sighed and leaned forward pinching the bridge of his nose “how to use smaller words, there’s a lot of electricity that runs through it to power that much, well, power, it will get hot and the materials it’s made of will melt and catch on fire, its why most big companies keep their servers in a climate controlled environment”

Steve hummed “so I’m guessing its illegal and also worthless to try and sell” tony shrugged “unless you Wanna go dark web black market then basically yeah, not a lot of people know what it is and those that do probably shouldn’t own one or already own one” Steve sighed threw his nose, he wasn’t about to drag around something he couldn’t sell and he couldn’t exactly throw it away “you can have it then”

Tony looked at Steve surprised “what? It’s not like I can use the damn thing” the younger man smiled slowly “thank you Steve”

He had to look away; Steve forgot just how bright Tony’s face could light up when he smiled

Just then the lights in the kitchen flickered and then came on leaving both of them to blink and squint as the light assaulted their eyes “I forgot I felt the light on” tony stood and turned off the lamp to put it back under the sink

“well, I do believe I promised you a look at the old man’s computer” tony stood up and smirked at Steve.

He wondered if that smirk should worry him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright so, first off an announcement. I will be starting collage in less than a month and before that I am disconnecting from the internet for a week for a vacation and to take care of some family business (nothing supernatural unfortunately lol) so it is going to mess with my writing schedule because I also work on the days I am not in school.
> 
> second I know that last couple chapters have been kind of slow but the next one will be both explicit (exciting I know) and have some graphic violence if things go the way I'm hoping they will.
> 
> thanks to all the readers that have stuck with me so far and thank you to all the new readers who have read the monster that is part one and patiently await each chapter as I try to make my brain work haha, fans are the reason fandom is possible!
> 
> anyway I hope you liked the most recent chapter, if you did leave a comment/kudo and I will see you next time!  
> RD


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a heads up in the beginning of the chapter Howards neglect and abuse are mentioned in passing in case anyone has any issues with things like that.
> 
> So, it took me a while but I finally managed to get it done, heres hoping you guys enjoy this chapter!
> 
> let me know in the comments below if you spot any major issues or mistakes or even if you just wanna say hi!
> 
> but please,
> 
> enjoy  
> RD.

“Well that was a waste of time” Steve rubbed his fingers threw his hair, making the strands stand on end and also making himself wince when he touched the goose egg on the back of his skull “I told you so, Howard is about useless anymore, he drinks and goes on business trips but he doesn’t do any actual business”

“How could a CEO not know what his company is doing” tony looked at Steve from where he sat at the desk while the older man paced the floor “if you ever met the man you’d realize just how stupid that question is”

Steve stopped and looked at tony, he remembered that even though tony never called him that, Howard was his father and also the same man to hurt him both physically and mentally, let his only child leave his house bleeding in the middle of the night.

And Steve expected him to keep incriminating files on his computer to tie him to the explosion in Steve’s apartment?

Now he felt like an idiot and an asshole.

Well a bigger asshole, if he was honest with himself he felt like an ass ever since he left tony asleep, naked in his apartment with no intention of seeing him ever again.

Then again there was a reason he was trying to stay away from tony, he just couldn’t think of it right now because his head hurt too much.

He still couldn’t believe the kid hit him with a bat.

“From what you tell me I don’t think I need to meet him” tony rolled his eyes and looked at his hands picking at his nails as Steve went back to pacing, he just couldn’t stay still, there was so much he didn’t know and it seemed like he was getting more questions than answers.

Who blew up his apartment? Who was Obadiah Stan’s buyer? How did they find out about the break-in so fast? Were they still coming after Steve? Was tony in danger because of him?

And those were just in the last hour; don’t get him started on the questions from the three months he was laying low.

“yeah, he is an asshole at the best of times, anyway” tony stopped picking at his nails and looked up at Steve “Obie would have kept all his under the table transactions on his personal computer, he doesn’t like other people butting in when he’s ‘working’” tony barely resisted making air quotations “the computers in his office and you can’t exactly get into SI like you did here”

There was silence for a few moments then tony tilted his head and furrowed his brows “speaking of, how the hell did you get in here?” Steve glanced at tony and felt almost sheepish “you know that trellis? Yeah those are called ladders where I come from”

Tony stared at him for a minute mouth open then spoke “you climbed my house?!”

“In my defense no one locks second story windows!” tony huffed and crossed his arms, pouting, a thought of how adorable that pout was crossed Steve’s mind but he forced it out “so” he changed the subject as he stopped pacing “there’s no way to get to Stan’s computer?” tony uncrossed his arms “for you no” the young man stood from his chair and stretched.

Steve couldn’t help staring at the stretch a perfect image of the man doing that naked flashing in his mind and he had to look away.

\---

“What do you mean by that?” tony smirked over at Steve “what do you think? I work there I can get into his office and copy his hard drive”

He watched as the blond head jerked around to look at him, his eyes were wide and his mouth was open slightly.

It was kind of funny.

“I can’t let you do that”

That was even funnier “good thing I’m not asking you to” tony shoved his hands in his pockets “tony” the man started, his eyes pinched “don’t ‘tony’ me, I’m the only one that can get in” tony smirked at the man as reassurance but he obviously didn’t take it that way if the hands suddenly fisted in his shirt were anything to go by.

“This isn’t a game tony” the man growled in a way that really shouldn’t turn him on “and I’m not playing” tony grabbed Steve’s wrists but knew he wouldn’t be able to get his hands off if he tried “if he catches you, you’ll be his next target, he will try to kill you to-“

“I already am” Steve’s mouth shut with an audible click and he stared at tony “you don’t get it, I’m the only one standing between him and total control of SI, it’s my company and if half of what you think is true then I’m already a target”

Tony stopped and sighed looking away from Steve’s to blue eyes, “Stark Industries is all I have and the fact that Obie is abusing it, it makes me sick!”

He looked back at Steve and there was something burning in his eyes “I have to stop him from sinking my company into the ground”

Steve stared at tony for a few minutes but he didn’t back away and then finally Steve sighed and closed his eyes, hands loosening in Tony’s shirt “I don’t think I’ve ever lost an argument before I meant you”

Tony couldn’t help his grin “thank you” Steve opened one eye to look at him “that wasn’t a compliment” Tony’s grin widened until it verged on the edge of shit eating “well I took it as one”

“You take everything as a compliment” it wasn’t a question as much as a statement of fact “yep” he said, popping the ‘p’ just to be annoying.

Tony saw Steve roll his eyes just before the man’s hands rose and cupped either side of Tony’s face, making him look at Steve as the man ducked his head “just be careful” the man said, tony saw something almost glowing in his eyes before the man pressed his lips to Tony’s forehead in a gesture that was both unmistakable and make tony freeze.

When he shifted away it felt like time stood still.

\---

Steve stared at the shorter man in front of him as a war raged in his head, Steve’s urges and needs warring against his better judgment and want to leave and keep him safe.

“I can’t” he stopped when tony reached up and grasped his wrist, his lips twitching up at the corners.

He didn’t say anything; he didn’t have to as the war inside Steve’s head slowly fell silent.

He sighed and closed his eyes then pulled tony closer and kissed him, Steve felt Tony’s breath wash hot against his face as he sighed, felt his hands press against his chest as tony leaned against him.

Steve didn’t deepen the kiss but neither did tony it was almost comforting, the press of lips, sharing of space, breathing the same air, it calmed something in Steve he hadn’t even realized was on edge.

Gliding his hands down from Tony’s face he let them rest on Tony’s hips and tilted his head so their noses weren’t bumping as much.

He felt tony raise his hands and rest them over his shoulders, linking his fingers behind Steve’s neck, inching closer until they were pressed together.

Steve had missed this, missed the feel of the younger man, the taste of his lips, the wiry muscle under his to soft skin.

When air became a requirement instead of an afterthought, Steve pulled away and couldn’t help resting his head against Tony’s “is that a super computer or are you just happy to see me?” he couldn’t help asking making tony snort and pull back a hand to punch him “we were having a moment” he laughed.

Steve lifted his head to smirk down at the younger man “whatever you say princess” tony punched him again making him laugh.

Tony crossed his arms “you’re an ass” tony said and then gasped when his feet left the floor, scrambling to put his arms back around Steve’s shoulders for balance before he was put back down on the edge of the desk he had been sitting at a few minutes before.

“Tell me something I don’t know darling”

\---

Tony felt his neck grow warm and scrunched his nose to try and hide it “umm” he started his hands sliding down Steve’s shoulders to rest on his biceps, were they always so muscly?

He couldn’t quite think with the way the older man stood between Tony’s legs, his hands on either side of Tony’s hips “you have a great ass?” he said almost like a question.

Steve snorted and lowered his head face close enough to Tony’s that he felt the man’s warm breath on his skin “I said, something I don’t know”

Tony rolled his eyes “smartass” he said before pulling the older man into a kiss to silence him, this time it didn’t stay as chaste as the first one, Steve parted his lips to lick at Tony’s mouth a request he had to accept.

When his own lips parted Steve pressed closer and the only way tony could think to describe it would be an attempt to devour him, tony didn’t even try to fight for dominance, it would have been a losing battle and besides he was distracted.

He had forgotten how Steve tasted, the coolness of his scent with the bites of cordite and tobacco, it made tony want to melt, to stay exactly where he was until the end of time and maybe longer.

Steve was like a drug and tony ached for another hit.

Tony moved his hands down to the hem of the hoodie Steve wore, pulling and tugging until his fingers once gain felt the hot hard muscles of Steve’s chest, tracing the dips and curves of his abs.

Oh he had missed this.

\---

Steve had forgotten what Tony’s hands felt like, the questioning fingers tracing over his stomach, the willing and eager mouth under his own, it was enough to drive any man to his knees.

Lifting his hands from where he had left them Steve grabbed the bottom of his hoodie and the t-shirt along with it and pulled away to yank both over his head letting them fall to the floor before looking back at tony.

His lips were swollen and his tanned skin flushed a nice rosy color he had missed seeing, his hands remained on Steve’s skin but now they explored further, the younger man’s eyes tracking their progress.

It was almost like tony was trying to relearn what Steve felt like

He knew that shouldn’t turn him on but he was well past the point of caring.

Normally he would let tony look and explore his fill but the last three months had made him impatient, made him long to touch tony in a way no one else had.

Stepping forward again Steve grabbed the hem of Tony’s shirt and pulled it off of him, immediately laying his hands on the younger man’s warm body and pressing his mouth to his throat.

Tony sighed, body relaxing and chest vibrating with a moan as Steve bit down, coaxing a bruise into existence, leaving a hand on the small of Tony’s back Steve encouraged the younger to fall back, moving his other arm over the top of the desk to shove things out of his way.

Once he was settled Steve slid his rough palms down Tony’s sides, over the soft material of his sleeping pants, catching the hem with his thumbs and making the younger lift his hips so Steve could remove them.

Once Tony’s legs were free Steve dropped the clothing with as much care as he had given his own and grasped the younger’s legs, pulling until their hips were flush together and he could grind against Tony’s amazing ass.

He felt the younger moan, Tony’s arms snaking around his neck and his hips moving in time with Steve’s even if his pants had to be rough, it was almost like he never left.

After his three month dry spell Steve didn’t have much patience, he didn’t care where they were or that tony was laid out on a desk rather than a bed.

He just wanted to take the younger man apart.

Blindly Steve let go of Tony’s legs to reach for his bag that was tossed in one of the chairs beside the desk making tony remove his hands from his neck, searching thought the front zipper with one hand while the other slid up Tony’s leg to his groin.

He was hard and already leaking on his stomach, the younger gasped as Steve took him in hand and stroked him slowly “Jesus, I forgot you were a tease” tony hissed out, he had propped himself up on his elbows to watch what Steve was doing but now he let his head fall back.

Steve couldn’t help a low chuckle as he pulled out what he was looking for “teasing implies I’m not going to give you what you want” the younger could only moan.

With a final stroke Steve took his hand away and instead thumbed open the bottle of lube he had retrieved and squirted some on his fingers.

He didn’t bother to warm it, he didn’t have the patience he just set aside the bottle and put his clean hand under Tony’s leg to lift it out of the way before pressing his fingers to the younger’s entrance.

Steve remembered tony being tight, remembered having to go slow so he didn’t hurt the other man but as Steve rubbed his thumb over Tony’s entrance the muscles gave and he was able to slip one finger in almost easily.

Like he’d been fucked a lot more than they had fucked and recently.

That thought made something almost like jealousy burn in Steve’s chest, it almost confused him, he was sure it would confuse him when he wasn’t distracted.

\---

Steve’s grip had tightened and his voice was a growl when he spoke “who’ve you been fucking? You weren’t this easy last time I did this” tony couldn’t answer for a moment as Steve pulled out and pressed two fingers inside of him, making him bite his lip “no one” he said honestly, skin flushing as the bastard skimmed over his prostate.

When tony managed to look back at the man, Steve’s lips had curved into an almost predatory dirty grin “this says otherwise” Tony’s back arched and his head fell back as Steve pulled his fingers free only to press them back in three wide, a moan slipped out before he could catch it.

“Don’t tell me you did this, fucked yourself loose on your fingers, did you think about me when you did? About my cock shoved deep inside you? Filling you in ways no one else ever has?”

“fuck, Steve!” tony moaned, nails scratching the desk under him as he fought not to spill at the words falling from Steve’s lips, suddenly Steve was leaning down over his body his fingers pulled free “let me tell you this baby”

Tony shivered at the name and stared at the older man with wide eyes “anything you imagined, it aint nothing compared to the real thing” Steve lunged for a kiss, their lips meeting in a clash of teeth and tongues, it smothered Tony’s moan when he felt something pressing against his stretched hole.

When Steve pulled away Tony’s head fell back and he lifted his hips giving Steve a better angel to be able to slide in.

It burned, tony suspected it would always burn, Steve wasn’t small after all, but it was quickly replaced by a deep pleasure that made tony reach out, grasping at Steve’s biceps as the man leaned over him, his legs pushed out of the way and almost bending him in half as Steve started to thrust.

Tony didn’t think he’d last very long, Steve’s lips on his throat, the heat of his body covering him, the burning pleasure from the man just skirting around his prostate.

It wouldn’t take long and Steve was right, the dildo tony had bought when he realized the man had disappeared was nothing compared to the cock fucking him, dragging at his rim.

He knew his nails were digging into Steve’s skin and he didn’t want to think about the noises he was making, whimpering and moaning, he didn’t want to think about how wrecked he looked.

“oh, fuck, please” he heard himself babbling as Steve all but mauled his neck, when a slick hand grabbed his neglected cock just this side of too tight his body started to burn in the most delicious ways, he didn’t know if he should bear down or thrust up, pleasure assaulted him from all sides and he could only hold on for the ride until “oh god Steve” his body locked up in pleasure and his vision went white.

\---

Tony was gorgeous like this, the sounds he made were addicting and his body gleamed with sweat, Steve leaned back to admire it when he felt the younger start to go taught, Tony’s hair was hanging in his face, eyes unfocused and his mouth open on harsh pants.

He was beautiful.

Steve watched as the youngers back arched and his body locked up “oh god Steve” he moaned out as he spilled over Steve’s hand, his walls clenching perfectly around Steve making him lose himself, thrusting twice more and coming in Tony’s gorgeous willing body.

His orgasm was sudden and left him feeling weak; he laid his hand down on the desk beside Tony’s head to keep his balance as he gasped.

Tony’s eyes had fallen closed and his arms had dropped from Steve’s skin and laid limp on either side of him on the desk, it almost looked like he had passed out but steve knew he hadnt, it was a breathtaking sight.

Steve couldn’t stop himself from leaning down and pressing their mouths together in a kiss being far softer than he had before, Tony’s mouth was pliant and there was no rush, no demand in the kiss, only sated pleasure.

When he pulled away the younger opened his eyes slowly and smiled at him, making Steve’s heart clench in his chest and his mind fill with happy fuzz.

Just like that Steve allowed himself to become attached and also subjected himself to the inevitable pain the attachment would bring him.

After so long you’d think a man would learn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I hope y'all enjoyed that, the next one should be a little easier for me to write hopefully and im starting to get use to my school schedule so I think (think) ill be able to speed up my posting a little.
> 
> funny story i'm taking a bio class and didn't really study cause I had to work but I passed it because of an old music video about mitochondria being the powerhouse of the cell.
> 
> anyway, see ya next time!  
> RD


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well so much for steady posting schedule for this installment haha. honestly i should have known better really.
> 
> anyway sorry this took so long and let me know what you guys think or leave a kudo but most importantly
> 
> enjoy!  
> RD

Morning came far too bright and far too early for tony stark, he groaned and turned away from the light and whatever the fuck was making so much racket, burying himself into the warmth of his bed.

A chuckle from above him made his brain stall. “is that how you always react to an alarm?.” a voice questioned before his warm pillow moved and the noise stopped.

Opening his eyes tony rose his head and looked at the bare-chested sleep rumpled Steve who he was half laying on top of. “hi.” he managed after staring for a minute because it was impossible to see the man shirtless and not go a little bit blurry minded.

Absently he noticed the relaxed nature of the man and wondered if it was because of the comfort of Tony’s bed or something else.

“hi.” the man replied, amused as he looked at tony, lips quirking.

Tony could only blink at him stupidly until he noticed the dark mark on the man’s head, he reached up to move some strand of Steve’s hair away to get a better look at the growing bruise.

He felt Steve flinch. “careful.” the man said his hand taking tony by the wrist. “its tender.” he said, tony glanced away. “sorry.” he muttered and was sure Steve rolled his eyes. “don’t be, the only reason you managed to him me was because I was distracted”

Tony’s lips twisted slightly, and he rolled his eyes but didn’t pull his hand away from Steve’s grasp. “said like I can’t beat someone’s ass.” Steve huffed. “well how was it we met the second time? Oh, that’s right I saved you from getting your ass kicked.” tony punched Steve in the chest making the man laugh. “that was three against one! I could totally take your ass one on one!”

Steve grinned up at him then flipped them over and pinned him on his back. “big words for a little guy.” tony glared up at the blonde man but there was little heat in it. “asshole.” he muttered but couldn’t be mad at him, he was pretty sure that was because tony had skulled him the night before.

“I could totally take you.” Steve’s brow perked again. “oh really?.” he said with a smirk as he lowered his head. “and how.” Steve pressed a kiss to Tony’s neck. “would you do that.” the man bit at tones Adams apple causing the younger to gasp quietly. “little guy?” he finished. “I can be persuasive.” tony muttered resting his hands on the older man’s ribs and leaning his head back.

“oh?” Steve hummed and laved at a bruise he had left on the younger man’s collar bone the night before. Tony hummed presently. “oh yeah. I can bring a politician to his knees in ten minutes or less.”

Steve rose his head and smirked down at tony and narrowed his eyes playfully. “I feel like I should be jealous.” Tony’s mouth tugged up at the corners. His brain was fuzzy in a sleepy lazy sort of way, so he didn’t think about what he was saying as he reached up to loop his arms around Steve’s neck. “don’t worry darlin, I’m yours.”

The man seemed to freeze for a moment before pulling back slowly to look down at tony, boxed in as he was between Steve’s arms. He just stared at tony for a minute before smirking and ducking his head to huff a chuckle. When he rose his head, he looked like he wanted to say something when suddenly.

“hey tony! Are you actually going to get your ass up or am I-.” Tony’s door suddenly opened and both men jerked their heads twored it and the carrot topped woman standing there.

The woman’s eyes went wide as she stared and tony panicked for a moment before putting all his strength into a shove at Steve’s shoulder and sitting up pulling the blanket along with him as he turned the door, so he didn’t flash the woman. “this is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing!.” he rushed out.

Steve who had rolled onto his back in a tangle of sheets and pillows glanced up at the young man and smirked a little. “you’ve done things worse than me?” he asked. The blushing young man turned his head with wide eyes. “you are not helping”

Steve smirked wider and crossed his arms behind his head stretching out. “not trying to”

The young man gave him a dirty look before turning his face back to the woman in the door way who was rubbing her head and looking annoyed. “it’s too early for this shit.” she said then turned. “I’m making coffee! Find your god damn pants class starts in an hour!.” the woman said over her shoulder as she walked away.

“love you Pepper!” tony shouted after the woman before falling backwards head landing on Steve’s stomach making the man huff which sounded vaguely like a chuckle after a moment especially as pepper yelled back “pants! Now!”

Tony elbowed the man in the hip to get him to shut up, but it just made him chuckle more “oh shut up” tony muttered, face feeling warm as he pushed himself up and swung his legs over the side of his bed to stand up.

He walked to his closet to grab some underwear and some jeans and heard his sheets rustling so guessed Steve was on the hunt for his pants.

Tony couldn’t help glancing back to watch the play of muscles over the mans back, lightly tanned flesh interspaced with a couple of bullet wounds and some mostly faded bruises tony was pretty sure weren’t his fault.

Looking back to his closet he took a deep breath to calm down before pulling on a black sabbath shirt and turning to face the only half-dressed man “so”

\---

Steve felt more rested than he had for weeks, his lower back was blessedly silent and even though his bruises still stung he felt damn near like a new man. Amazing what sleeping in a real bed could do for you.

Stretching his back Steve started looking for his clothes. He had just pulled on his jeans when tony spoke from behind him. Turning he looked at the younger man leaning against his dresser with his arms crossed “are you going to disappear again?”

The words cut deep for some reason Steve didn’t want to think about “nah” he said looking away and picking up his shirt from the floor “I ain’t going anywhere princess”

Tony scrunched up his nose at Steve’s new favorite nickname for him making the older man snicker. Seeing it the younger walked over and punched his arm “come on asshole. I have to get to school before pepper decides to kill me” Steve smirked and fallowed him out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

The red head tony called pepper with highlights in her hair was sitting at the counter with a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. To Steve she didn’t look murderous but then again he was friends with Natasha so he didn’t entirely believe it.

“did you get the report done?” the woman asked while eyeing Steve as the brunet bolted toward the steaming coffee pot “its not due until next week” he said as he filled a cup “no its due in three hours” the woman said finally taking her eyes off Steve.

The younger man groaned “damn it! Did they move it up?” he demanded as he slurped down half the cup and rushed for his bag “no its been due today since it was assigned last week. Apparently you’ve just been distracted” and the woman was back to looking at him “don’t blame me” he said raising a brow at the woman “I just got back into town”

The woman hummed looking both unconvinced and unimpressed. He’d only ever seen that expression on Jan and distantly he wondered if it was just a woman thing “tony” the young man popped back up from behind the kitchen island “huh?”

“can I talk to you for a sec?” tony looked between Steve and pepper then shuffled out from behind the island “uh sure” Steve walked toward the hallway “I’m going to head out I have some people to talk to” tony nodded slowly then smirked a little “gonna use the front door this time?”

Steve couldn’t help rolling his eyes “fuck off princess” the younger laughed “yeah yeah. Stay out of trouble and I’ll see what I can dig up” Steve nodded and glanced up to see pepper watching them from the door way.

Unable to help himself Steve reached down and grabbed the back of Tony’s neck pulling him into a rather filthy kiss. Pulling away he couldn’t help admiring the younger mans flushed face before glancing up and smirking at pepper “see ya Tony” he said then turned and walked out of the house.

His bike was still where he left it and once he got on it he pulled out his cell phone and shot off a text to Bucky letting the man know he was coming over then putting it away he started his bike and started off.

Having the best nights sleep he’d had in weeks he felt ready to start treading through the shit.

There was work to do.

\---

Tony stood staring at the door for a moment before smiling and reaching up to rub the back of his head “tony!” he jumped “ten-minute warning!” pepper shouted making tony jolt to put on his shoes and pack up his backpack.

“I’m ready! I’m ready!” he said running up the stairs to grab his phone from his bedside table “then get your ass in the car” pepper yelled at him as he ran back down “get over here” the woman said suddenly looking further exasperated “what” he complained walking over.

The woman turned on the tap and wet her hands then shoved her hands onto his head making him squawk “what the fuck” he sputtered as she raked her hands through his hair.

“there” she said and picked up her own backpack “now let’s go” she said and walked away.

Tony sighed “and don’t forget to finish that report!” he groaned and closed his door hearing a rumbling sound in the distance before walking toward peppers car.

There was to much work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so school is hard. then again i knew that but finals. oh god finals. writing chapters and English papers is weird lol.
> 
> anyway happy holidays y'all! careful of the snow and bad weather and stay warm and safe! 
> 
> the next chapter might be out sooner than this but who knows haha oh this was probably a mistake. 
> 
> anyway see ya next time and thanks for sticking with me so long!  
> RD


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse. i just forgot.
> 
> sorry =(   
> RD

Steve arrived at a small down town apartment with little fuss until he made it inside the building or to be specific the apartment on the third floor where Bucky lived. The second he walked into the apartment he was pinned down by one set of curious eyes and another set of judgmental ones.

Mentally sighing Steve prepared himself to be bitched out about disappearing for the night without letting his best friend know where he’d be. The god damned mother hen.

“hey man” Sam the owner of the curious gaze greeted from the kitchen that was to the left of the entry hall. “morning Sam” Steve said with a nod and quirk of his lips the man had been hanging around Bucky apartment an awful lot lately, but Steve wasn’t about to mention it after all it was none of his business what Bucky did in his spare time.

Never mind how much the other man thought he needed to know Steve’s business. “thought you’d already be at work” Sam worked at the local VA hospital, he was a physical therapist but also ran a support group for returning soldiers with PTSD.

It was actually how they met, Steve had been visiting Bucky after the accident and Sam had already been in the room taking none of his best friends’ shit “I’m on my way out now, see what you can do about him would ya” Sam nodded toured Bucky “he’s been grumpy all day”

Steve glanced at his best friend who was still glaring at him from the couch “how’s that different from normal” Sam laughed and clapped him on the shoulder before leaving the apartment.

Taking a deep breath Steve looked at the ceiling then turned toured his judgmental best friend with hands on hips “Alright, spit it out” he said. Bucky didn’t even pretend to be surprised “where the hell were you last night?” he got straight to the point “Nat got me an opportunity to access Howard Stark’s personnel computer, I got in during a power failure last night and waited for power to come back on” Bucky motioned to his head at the bruise “I’m guessing the place wasn’t empty”

Steve tried to control his smirk as he reached up to touch the bruise, the skin was warm and still painful to the touch and he made another note to never piss tony off “no, guys son was there said something about running out of underwear” Steve moved and sat in the easy chair beside the couch “and the kid didn’t call the cops?”

He shook his head “nope, kids an idiot but he got me into his old man’s computer once the lights came on, turns out stark is a drunk and hasn’t been more than a face for the company for years. All his control was signed over to his business partner” Bucky’s brows furrowed, and he sat forward on the couch “stan?” Steve nodded “and that guy keeps all his files on the main stark tech server”

“Barton tried getting into the stark network after you left town it’s impossible to get into” Steve bit his lip and leaned forward “not from the inside, starks kid works there said he’d see if he could copy stans computer and get it to me”

Now Bucky looked confused “why would he risk corporate espionage for you?” Steve shrugged “its not for me, he suspected under the table deals were going on in the company for years, there’s no love lost between him and his old man, but he seems to give a shit about his company”

Bucky sat back and scratched his scalp under his long hair, Steve kept threatening him to get it cut but it seemed to just make him grow it longer. When he looked back at Steve his eyes were sharp in a way that meant he knew Steve wasn’t telling him everything and wasn’t happy about it.

“but still, he hit you in the head pretty hard judging from the bruise, so you had to pass out for a minute, why didn’t he call the cops and after you got the information where did you go? You didn’t come here and Sam only showed up this morning said you weren’t at his place either” he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes “you didn’t seduce the kid, did you?”

Steve couldn’t hold in his snort or eye roll “no I didn’t seduce him, it’d be a little late for that” what the hell why not have a little fun with his best friend “technically he seduced me a while ago when he got me away from the cops” Steve stood up and walked toured the kitchen to get a beer even if it was barely past noon, the teasing part was fun but when Bucky figured out what he meant, well, that argument was going to be nasty.

Turning back, he watched his best friend stare at him blankly, gears turning slowly as he tried to figure out what Steve meant after a few minutes he took mercy on his friend “that kid I ran into and that you held at gunpoint? Turns out he’s tony stark”

The reaction was immediate “what?!”

A long day indeed.

\---

It was only Tony’s second class of the day and it had already been a long fucking day. That semester he had been forced into taking a couple of bullshit filler classes for some extra credit hours and one of them was art history.

A boring class with a boring teacher and a bunch of hipsters talking about how Mona Lisa was painted without a smile as a protest to blah, blah, blah. Tony was a science major he didn’t care what some dead guy was trying to express on stretched out plant leaves or whatever they used for canvas back then.

He probably should have been paying attention because he was sure there was going to be a quiz on it, but he could just look it up before the test. Why he had to waste fifty minutes of his life on this shit he had no idea.

When they were finally dismissed a blessed five minutes early tony was the first one out of his seat all but running for the door, he dodged his way through the steadily filling up hallway. He was almost run over five times before he made it to the haven that was the stairwell at the end of the hall. No one used that shortcut anymore preferring instead to use the main hallways or the elevators.

Once safe in the confines of a dull gray stairwell he took a breath and leaned against the railing for a moment, arms thrown over it as he let his breath out in a groan “why did I need the master’s degree again?” he asked no ‘one before glancing at his watch again and groaning. If he didn’t get a move on, he’d be late for his next class.

Math. A two-hour long class but at least it made fucking since to him. He’d take long division and prime multiplication any day over the history of the resonance or what color correlated best with the artists mood. At least after math he had a free period so he could annoy Bruce, he hadn’t really seen much of the man recently and he missed his science buddy.

As he started descending the stairs he had to mutter “who the hell even cares it’s fucking paint” under his breath before he rejoined the crowds of people outside the stairwell. Tony had no issue with crowds, he was a stark and had taken part in the Maria stark gala since he was twelve but the obnoxious amount of too loud talking, high pitched giggles, nauseating odors from young adults who apparently didn’t know how to use a shower and the popping of bubble gum was enough to set even Buddhas teeth on edge.

And tony was no, fucking, saint. So, he was glad to finally reach his next class before he burst, sliding into his seat with a sigh. He pulled an energy drink out of his backpack, mentally giving the ‘no food or drinks’ sign the middle finger as he opened it and took a swig of the lukewarm carbonated goodness.

Looking at the logo he frowned “give you wings my ass” he thought before putting it down and pulling out his laptop, he didn’t need to take notes in this class because honestly, he’d taken advanced calculus when he was at MIT he really didn’t need another math class but it kept his hours up.

Opening his email, he sorted through the junk until he found a notification for SI’s R&D department about a mandatory staff meeting the following week that all but demanded his presence. Honestly it was like they couldn’t run the place without him and they only demanded he be there like that when they fucked something up.

But he wouldn’t complain, obi was going on a business trip next week so his office would be ripe for the picking. He was in the middle of a response email when the teacher called on him, twice. “Mr. Stark!” the old woman finally said mostly exasperated but also kind of pissed which made tony look up “huh?” he questioned “since your obviously not paying attention why don’t you solve the problem on the board?”

Raising a brow tony moved his eyes to the white board covered in black marks “eighty-seven and fifty three millionths” he looked back at his computer to continue his email “unless the third number is a negative in which case its sixty-two”

A couple of students around him snorted and the teacher let out a deep exhausted sigh, but it was her own fault for trying to trick him with simple math, he could do this shit in his sleep.

Now that he thought about it, he was actually pretty sure he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so that schedule i had planned kind of died an early death but i got the chapter finished.
> 
> can i also say how annoying it is when teachers do that when they think your not paying attention? it is.
> 
> anyway if you enjoyed leave a kudo/comment i love hearing from you guys!
> 
> but most of all please  
> enjoy!  
> RD


End file.
